World War II pilot’s remains found in a tree 70 years after his airplane crashed

The year was 1945 and 21 year old Army Air Forces 1st Lt. William Gray was on a combat mission over Germany in a single-seat P-47D Thunderbolt aircraft when disaster struck. His airplane came in contact with a tree and he crashed.

The Defense POW/MIA said investigators recovered Gray’s remains last year. Two people who saw Gray’s plane go down told the investigators where to look, Q13 Fox reported Friday. The investigators were in Lindau on another recovery mission.

“The bones they found were embedded in the tree,” Gray’s niece Jan Bradshaw told the station.

Her brother Doug Louvier added, “It grew over his remains and really protected and marked the spot.”

Gray was buried side-by-side with his best friend—Bradshaw and Louvier’s father.” – Fox News